


A Solitary Red Glove

by Crollalanza



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Beginnings, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22158649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/Crollalanza
Summary: 'He bent down to pick up the object, and smiled a little sadly because it was a glove, one of a pair, but it had lost its other half.'On his way home from work on a snowy day, Tanaka finds a solitary glove, which leads him to a nearby cafe and ...
Relationships: Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71





	A Solitary Red Glove

It stood out on the pavement because of its colour. Red like rubies on the background of snow – quite like the fairy tale his sister used to tell him when he was young, Ryuu thought, turning his head to see if any Snow White would appear. But the street was empty apart from him and the swirling mass of snowflakes dancing in the air. He bent down to pick up the object, and smiled a little sadly because it was a glove, one of a pair, but it had lost its other half.

Intending to leave it somewhere higher so it wouldn’t get trampled underfoot, he tucked the glove into his sleeve and trudged onwards. Then he paused. There was another set of footprints in the snow – just the one – and the glove was only half covered with ice, so it couldn’t have been there for long. Maybe its owner would be coming back along the path. Or maybe if he hurried he could catch her up. (He thought it had to be a her because the glove was much smaller than any he could fit on his hand.)

He picked up his pace, taking quicker and wider strides, keeping his eyes on the street ahead (although it was harder now the snow was falling not in swirls but in thick driven drifts towards him) in case the glove’s owner appeared, and also on the ground to follow the rapidly disappearing footprints.

He had no idea why he was bothering, but something about the glove, so soft on his arm, appealed to him. And even though he’d decided it was a woman’s glove, it was the type of glove he’d like, red and bold, warm to the touch.

The footsteps veered off to the left. He stopped where they did, in front of a coffee shop. Shrugging he pushed open the door. He was cold, he told himself, and might as well break up his journey home with a hot drink. Telling himself he was shivering with cold and not anticipation, he walked up to the counter, and glanced at the drinks menu on the wall. So many coffees, not so many teas, but all he really wanted was a large hot chocolate with cream, and marshmallows dotted on the top. So while he waited for the barista, he turned away from the counter and allowed himself to study the other customers, trying to find the owner of the lost glove.

But to his chagrin, there was no one that matched his idea of who the glove belonged to. A mum sat with her teenage son, but her gloves were fat fleecy mittens. An old man wearing boots sat in the corner, reading a newspaper, whilst sipping at coffee, and three school girls were giggling at a table by the window.

He dismissed them all because there’d been one set of footprints, and that one set had been small, and the owner had been wearing heels.

“Sir? Can I help you?”

It was the voice which caught his attention. A voice he hadn’t heard for nearly five years. A lifetime ago, when he’d still been at school, when volleyball had been his life. When she’d been part of that life.

“Shimizu-san,” he murmured, turning on the spot, and smiling tentatively.

She stared back at him, a little puzzled, and then he saw the connection whirring in her mind.

“Tanaka Ryuunosuke,” she cried. “Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?”

“Uh … I’m on my way home from work,” he replied. “And … um … I was cold, so I wanted a drink to thaw out.” He swallowed, watching the way her eyes still lit from within when she talked _. Oh gods, don’t let me become a dumbass again? I’m not sixteen anymore!_ “I wasn’t stalking ya!”

She laughed quietly, and again he felt his stomach clench and again he was transported back five years to when she’d been the girl he dreamt about.

“I didn’t think you were. Now, take a seat and I’ll bring you a drink … Hot chocolate, isn’t it?”

“You remembered.”

“Mmm, well I had to make it for you and Nishinoya enough times at Training camp, didn’t I?” she teased.

He took a seat, gazing around at the cafe, and liking the atmosphere. Maybe he could pop in again. Maybe she wouldn’t object. But maybe, it would make him look like a creep. Just as he had in High School. He flushed, determining to leave as soon as he’d finished the drink, and never return.

But when she brought his drink, she pulled up a chair and sat opposite. “You should remove your coat, Tanaka-san,” she scolded. “Or you’ll really feel the cold when you leave.”

Smiling slightly, because she sounded just the same as always, Ryuu took off his coat, and as he did so, something fell out of his sleeve, dropping to the floor.

“OH!” She reached down for it, then held it up under the light. “It’s my glove. Thank you, I thought I’d lost this forever.”

He sipped his chocolate, its warmth reviving him, but not nearly as much as her smile, and thanked whatever deity had been looking down on him that had made him pick up Shimizu Kiyoko’s solitary red glove.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in December 2014 for an advent prompt. :D


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